Apparatus for mutual conversion between circular motion and reciprocal motion

Abstract: An apparatus for mutual conversion between circular motion and reciprocal motion includes a lever member (5) which is rotatably mounted on a line connecting a rotational center and a circumference of a rotary disk (3), the lever member (5) having a fulcrum, an action point and a force point, and being provided with a first regulator serving as an action point regulator (7) and a second regulator (6) serving as a movable fulcrum regulator. The first regulator (7) is coupled to a reciprocating body (8) and the movable fulcrum regulator (6) has support members (6c, 6d) for supporting the fulcrum point and the first regulator (7) has support members (7c, 7d) for supporting the action point in a longitudinal direction of the lever member (5).

Description: The present invention relates to devices as defined in the preambles of claims 1, 3, 4 and 7. Such devices are well-known in the art. As one of the factors that hinder an increase in output efficiency of a four-cycle reciprocating engine, the unavoidable side thrust of a piston is known. This side thrust cannot be avoided since the piston and the crankshaft are coupled to each other by using a connecting rod. More specifically, since the reciprocal motion of the piston is not smoothly transmitted to the crankshaft, the side thrust is increased, thus causing an energy loss. In this manner, conventionally, crank motion intervenes to convert linear motion into rotary motion. However, since the piston oscillates as the crank moves, in, e.g., a four-cycle reciprocating engine, a side thrust is generated between the piston and the cylinder. Therefore, the engine idling speed must be increased to about 1,000 rpm, causing a problem in fuel consumption as well. The side thrust causes an energy loss. Moreover, the piston must be made of a heavy, strong metal in order to prevent damage to the piston, e.g., cracking, partial breaking, and the like of the piston caused by collision of the piston against the inner wall of the cylinder. Then, the weight of piston cannot be decreased by making the piston with, e.g., a ceramic. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for mutual conversion between circular motion and reciprocal motion that can decrease an energy loss caused when converting the reciprocal motion of the piston of, e.g., a four-cycle reciprocating engine into the rotary motion of the crankshaft and can decrease the weight of the engine by forming the piston with a ceramic. Above problems are solved by the features of the independent claims 1, 3, 4 and 7. Further details are part of the dependent claims. This invention can be more fully understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of the loci of rotating and reciprocating portions shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a view showing another example of the loci of the rotating and reciprocating portions shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing still another embodiment of the present invention; FIGS. 6A and 6B are views showing the operation processes of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is a front view showing a concrete embodiment corresponding to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5; FIG. 8 is a plan view of the apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG. 7; FIG. 9 is a sectional side view of the apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG. 7; FIG. 10 is a front view of the apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG. 7; FIG. 11 is a front view showing still another embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 12 is a front view showing a still further embodiment of the present invention. The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall arrangement of an embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment has a lever member 5 whose one end serving as a force point is rotatably mounted, through a pin 4, to a position close to the circumference of a disk 3 mounted on a rotating shaft 2 of a motor 1. The fulcrum 6a of the lever member 5 is rotatably supported by a fulcrum regulator 6 so that the fulcrum is movable in its longitudinal direction. The fulcrum 6a is a pin and is mounted on the lever member 5 so as to support a roller 6b rotatably to the lever member 5 through the pin 6a. The fulcrum regulator 6 is composed of the roller 6b and guide plates 6c and 6d for guiding the roller 6b as well as the lever member 5 to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the lever member 5. An action point regulator 7 is provided to the action point 7a at the other end of the lever member 5. The action point regulator 7 has a roller 7b rotatably mounted to the other end of the lever member 5 through a pin 7a, and guide plates 7c and 7d for guiding the roller 7b so that the roller 7b as well as the action point 7a are movable in the longitudinal direction of the lever member 5. The action point regulator 7 is fixed to substantially the central portion of a cylindrical piston 8, and the piston 8 is inserted in a cylinder 9. Piston rings (not shown) are mounted at the peripheral portions near to the both end portions of the piston 8 so as to seal a gap between the piston 8 and the inner wall of the cylinder 9. Pairs of inlet and exhaust pipes 10a and 10b, and 10c and 10d are mounted to the two end faces of the cylinder 9, and opening/closing valves 11a, 11b, 11c, and 11d are provided to the respective pipes. In this arrangement, when the motor 1 is connected to a power supply and driven, the disk 3 is rotated in, e.g., the direction of an arrow A shown in FIG. 1, and the lever member 5 repeats pivot motion in the counterclockwise and clockwise directions every half turn of the disk 3. Accordingly, the action point 7a of the lever member 5 repeats a reciprocal motion in the direction normal to its longitudinal direction along with rotation of the disk 3. The reciprocal motion of the action point of the lever member 5 is transmitted to the action point regulator 7, and accordingly the piston 8 performs linear reciprocal motion in the cylinder 9. At this time, the roller 7b is guided to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the lever member 5 along the guide plates 7c and 7d of the regulator 7. In this case, when the valves 11a to 11d are opened and closed at predetermined timings as the piston 8 moves in response to the vertical movement of the lever member 5, a liquid can be taken from the pipes 10a and 10c into the cylinder 9 and exhausted from the pipes 10b and 10d, respectively. At this time, since the side thrust of the piston 8 toward the inner wall of the cylinder 9 does not appear due to the regulators 6 and 7, and the side thrust of the lever member 5 toward the guide plates 6c, 6d, 7c, and 7d, which is caused at the movable fulcrum 6a and the action point 7a of the lever member 5, is absorbed as rotation of the rollers 6b and 7b, mechanical losses at these portions are very small. The apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is a reversible apparatus. For example, when a high-pressure liquid or air is alternately supplied from the pipes 10a and 10c to vertically move the piston 8 with the high-pressure liquid or air, and the reciprocal motion of the piston 8 is transmitted to the disk 3 through the lever member 5 to rotate the disk 3, the motor 1 can be driven as a power generator. In this case as well, since the side thrust of the piston 8 toward the inner wall of the cylinder 9 and that of the lever member 5 toward the guide plates 6c, 6d, 7c, and 7d, which is caused at the movable fulcrum 6a and the force point 7a of the lever member 5 by the reciprocal motion of the piston 8, is absorbed as rotation of the rollers 6b and 7b of the regulators 6 and 7, mechanical losses at these portions are very small. FIGS. 2 and 3 are views showing the loci of the pins 4, 6a, and 7a in motion which respectively serve as the force point, the fulcrum, and the action point of the lever member 5 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. More specifically, the pin 4 performs a complete circular motion, the fulcrum pin 6a linearly moves between the guide plates 6c and 6d in the longitudinal direction of the lever member 5, and the pin 7a moves between the guide plates 7c and 7d in response to the reciprocal motion of the piston 8 to form a locus as shown in FIG. 2 or 3. The difference in locus of the pin 7a between FIGS. 2 and 3 is caused by the difference in position of the movable fulcrum pin 6a. FIG. 4 is a view showing the schematic arrangement of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a four-cycle engine. An inlet pipe 21, an exhaust pipe 22, an inlet valve 23, and an exhaust valve 24 are provided at the upper portion of a cylinder 20 of the four-cycle engine. A piston 25 is provided in the cylinder 20 to move vertically along the inner wall of the cylinder 20. Although not shown, a piston ring is mounted on the outer circumferential surface of the piston 25 to seal the piston 25 with respect to the inner wall of the cylinder 20. In the piston 25, a guide groove 25c is formed between a pair of guide plates 25a and 25b separated from each other by a predetermined distance in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the piston 25. A roller 26 having an outer diameter of almost the same size as the width of the guide groove 25c is inserted in the guide groove 25c. The roller 26 is rotatably mounted to one end or force point of a lever member 28 through a pin 27. The plates 25a, 25b and the roller 26 function as a force point regulator. The lever member 28 is supported through a movable fulcrum regulator 29 which has an arrangement identical to that of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. The other end of the lever member 28 is rotatably coupled to the crankshaft arm 30 of a crankshaft 32 or the peripheral portion of a rotary disk through a pin. The movable fulcrum regulator 29 is constituted by a pin 28a, a roller 28b, and guide plates 28c and 28d. The guide plates 28c and 28d are provided along the direction of the reciprocal motion of the piston 25, and the roller 28b is also supported to be movable in the direction of the reciprocal motion of the piston 25. In this embodiment, when the fuel-air mixture is ignited by an ignition plug 33 near the upper dead point in the compression stroke of the piston 25, the piston 25 is pushed down by explosion of the fuel-air mixture. This pressure is transmitted to the lever member 28 through the roller 26 and the pin 27, is then transmitted from the crankshaft arm 30 to the center rod of the crankshaft 32. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the piston 25 is urged against the inner wall of the cylinder 20 by the pressure of the explosion. Since the piston 25 and the lever member 28 are coupled to each other through the regulator composed of the plates 25a and 25b and the roller 26 serving as a force point regulator and through the regulator 29 serving as the movable fulcrum regulator, the force urging the piston 25 is fully transmitted to the crankshaft arm 30 and does not receive any counteraction from the lever member 28, so that the side thrust is greatly decreased as compared to a conventional reciprocal engine. Similarly, the fulcrum 28a of the lever member 28 is supported by the movable fulcrum regulator 29, and accordingly the reciprocal motion of the piston 25 is converted into a rotary motion with a small mechanical loss. In this case, since the piston 25 is not urged against the inner wall of the cylinder 20 by a large force, the major portion of the piston 25 can be formed of, e.g., a ceramic. Since the side thrust is decreased, the energy loss is decreased, and the idling speed can be decreased to, e.g., 50 rpm or less, leading to a great advantage in fuel consumption as well. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, two cylinders and two pistons each identical to that of the embodiment in FIG. 4 are coaxially coupled to have a simplified arrangement, thereby further improving the efficiency. Accordingly, in FIG. 5, portions corresponding to those in the arrangement of FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted or simplified. Referring to FIG. 5, pairs of inlet pipes 21a and 21b, exhaust pipes 22a and 22b, and ignition plugs 33a and 33b are mounted to the two end faces of a cylinder 20. A piston 25 is inserted in the cylinder 20, and a pin 27 acting as a force point and a roller 26 and guide plates 25a and 25b serving as a force point regulator are provided in the piston 25. The pin 27 is mounted to one end of a lever member 28, and the lever member 28 is rotatably coupled to a crankshaft arm or a power receiving portion 30a of a crankshaft 32 through a fulcrum regulator 29. The power receiving portion 30a corresponds to the crankshaft arm 30 of the crankshaft 32 in the embodiment of FIG. 4. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the inlet pipes 21a and 21b, and the exhaust pipes 22a and 22b are opened and closed by valves (not shown) at predetermined timings. These portions may have the same arrangement as that of a conventional four-cycle engine and the detailed explanations thereof are thus omitted. Assume that the crankshaft 32 is rotated by a starter motor (not shown), that, e.g., the piston 25 is moved in the cylinder 20 to come close to the left end in FIG. 5, and that the fuel-air mixture is compressed at this time. When the fuel-air mixture is ignited by the ignition plug 33a, the piston 25 is pushed to the right in FIG. 5, and the lever member 28 is rotated in the clockwise direction through the pin 27 as well as the force point regulator. When the lever member 28 is rotated about the fulcrum pin 28a clockwise, the crankshaft 32 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction. As a result, the piston 25 is moved in the cylinder 20 to come close to the right end in FIG. 5, and then the exhaust gas is exhausted from the pipe 22b. If it is designed that an explosion takes place in a second cylinder (not shown), the crankshaft 32 is continuously rotated. When an explosion takes place in the second cylinder, the piston 25 in FIG. 5 is moved to the left to exhaust the exhaust gas through the pipe 22a, and simultaneously the fuel-air mixture is taken from the inlet pipe 21b. When an explosion takes place in another third cylinder as the piston 25 comes to the left end in FIG. 5, the piston 25 is moved to the right to compress the fuel-air mixture taken in the inlet pipe 21b. The piston 25 is moved in the cylinder 20 to come close to the right end in FIG. 5. When the ignition plug 33b ignites the compressed fuel-air mixture at this time, the piston 25 is pushed to the left. In this manner, the crankshaft 32 is continuously rotated in the direction shown by an arrow A. FIG. 6A shows the process of a four-cycle engine in which two cylinders having the arrangement as shown in FIG. 5 are coupled to the crankshaft 32, and FIG. 6B shows operation steps of another two cylinders of the four-cycle engine in which a total of four cylinders identical to that employed in FIG. 5 are arranged to continuously cause four-cycle operation. In this case, if the four cylinders are arranged such that an explosion always takes place in a push-pull manner at the two sides of the lever member 28 of FIG. 5, the operation efficiency is increased, thereby realizing a quiet engine having a small vibration. In this embodiment, the piston 25 arranged with a good balance on the two sides of the pin 27, and the piston 25 only linearly contacts the guide plates 25a and 25b of the lever member 28 corresponding to the conventional connecting rod through the roller 26. Therefore, during each explosion, the piston 25 does not cause a large side thrust to act on the inner wall of the cylinder 20. Accordingly, the energy loss caused by the side thrust becomes small, so that a high-efficiency reciprocating engine can be constituted. Since a very large force does not act on the piston 25 due to the side thrust, the piston 25 can be formed of a ceramic. When the reciprocating engine can be formed by using a ceramic, the internal temperature of the cylinder 20 can be increased to twice to three times that of a conventional engine. It is known that the heat efficiency of the conventional reciprocating engine is 20%. In this embodiment, the mechanical loss can also be largely decreased. For example, if a 10% mechanical loss can be recovered, assuming that a 70% remaining heat loss can be decreased to 1/3, a high efficiency of (10 + 70/3 + 20)%, i.e., more than 50% can be obtained. Since the total coefficient of friction from the piston 25 to the crankshaft 32 becomes very small, a smooth movement as a whole can be obtained, and the idling speed can be reduced to, e.g., 50 rpm or less. FIGS. 7 to 10 show an embodiment of a horizontal coaxial four-cycle engine in which a cylinder having the arrangement of the embodiment of FIG. 5 is placed horizontally. Referring to FIG. 7, a roller 43a is fitted in a guide groove 42a formed between guide plates 42b and 42c formed in a piston 41a inserted in a cylinder 40a and is mounted to one end of a lever member 45a through a pin 44a. The roller 43a, two guide plates 42b and 42c form a force point regulator and the pin 44a acts as a force point of the lever member 45a. The lever member 45a is supported by a pin 48a acting as a movable fulcrum which is provided with a fulcrum regulator formed by a roller 47a inserted in a guide groove 46a. The other end or action point of the lever member 45a is coupled to a crankshaft arm 49a of a crankshaft. The crankshaft arm 49a is coupled to cam shafts 50a and 50b through a belt 61 and rollers 62a, 62b, 62c, 62d, and 62e as shown in FIG. 10 and serving as a coupling member, and drives cams 51a and 51b mounted to the cam shafts 50a and 50b. The cams 51a and 51b drive valves 54a and 54b through lever members 53a and 53b having movable fulcrum regulators 52a and 52b, respectively. As shown in FIG. 8, in addition to the valve 54a, another valve 55a is provided to one side of the cylinder 40a. The valve 55a is driven by a lever member 56a in a similar manner. As shown in FIG. 8, in addition to the valve 54b, another valve 55b is provided to the other side of the cylinder 40a. The valve 55b is driven by a lever member 56b in a similar manner. Referring to FIG. 8, pairs of ignition plugs 57a and 57b, and 58a and 58b are respectively provided to the two sides of the cylinder 40a. FIG. 9 is a sectional side view taken along the portion of the lever member 45a shown in FIG. 7. The crankshaft arm 49a coupled to the lower end of the lever member 45a is rotatably supported by bearings 60a and 60b. The engine shown in FIGS. 7 to 10 is basically the same as that shown in FIG. 5 and a description of the operation thereof will be omitted. In this engine, a lever member identical to the lever member 28 used between the piston 25 and the crankshaft 32 in FIG. 5 is employed in the driving mechanism of the valves 54a to 55b, so that the engine can be rotated at a higher speed. FIG. 11 shows a four-cylindered radial engine according to still another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, first and second common cylindrical cylinders 161 and 162 are so arranged that the axis of the cylinders 161 and 162 are parallel with each other. Both ends of the cylinders 161 and 162 are closed by head covers 163, 164, 165 and 166. Two valves 167a, 167b are mounted through the head cover 163. In a similar manner, valves 168a, 168b, 169a, 169b, 170a and 170b are mounted through the head covers 164, 165 and 166. First and second piston members 171 and 172 are provided in the cylinder 161 and are connected with each other by a connecting member 173. Two guide plates 174 and 175 are provided between the piston members 171 and 172 so that a roller 176 can be moved freely between the guide plates 174 and 175 in the direction normal to the axial direction of the cylinder 161. Recesses 171a and 172a are formed in the piston members 171 and 172 to decrease the weight thereof, and the open ends of the recesses 171 and 172 are closed by piston plates 177 and 178 so that combustion chambers 179 and 180 are formed between head covers 163, 164 and piston plates 174, 175. Sealing members or piston rings 181 are provided for sealing the combustion chambers 179, 180 at the gaps between the piston members 171, 172 and the cylinder 161. In a similar manner, first and second piston members 185 and 186 are provided in the cylinder 162 and are connected with each other by a connecting member 187. Two guide plates 188 and 189 are provided between the piston members 185 and 186 so that a roller 190 can be moved freely between the guide plates 188 and 189 in the direction normal to the axial direction of the cylinder 162. Recesses 191a and 192a are formed in the piston members 185 and 186 to decrease the weight thereof, and the open ends of the recesses 185 and 186 are closed by piston plates 192 and 193 so that combustion chambers 194 and 195 are formed between head covers 165, 166 and piston plates 192, 193. Sealing members 196 are provided for sealing the combustion chambers 194, 195 in a similar manner as in the cylinder 161. Cylinders 161 and 162 are fixed to a frame 200 so that the cylinders 161 and 162 are parallel with each other to have a center rod 201 of a crankshaft 202 being in a direction normal to the axes of the cylinders 161 and 162. The roller 176 is rotatably mounted to one end of a lever member 203 through a pin 204. The lever member 203 is supported by a movable fulcrum 204 constituted by a supporting roller 204a through a pin 204b between guide plates 204c, 204d functioning as a moving fulcrum regulator for movably supporting the lever member 203 in the longitudinal direction thereof. The other end of the lever member 203 is coupled to a power receiving portion of the crankshaft 202 rotatably. In a similar manner, the roller 190 is rotatably mounted to one end of a lever member 205 through a pin 206. The lever member 205 is supported by a movable fulcrum 207 constituted by a supporting roller 207a through a pin 207b between guide plates 207c, 207d of a moving fulcrum regulator for movably supporting the lever member 205 in the longitudinal direction thereof. The other end of the lever member 205 is coupled to a power receiving portion of the crankshaft 202 rotatably. When a spark or ignition plug (not shown) is energized in the combustion chamber 179, the fuel-air mixture or the combustion gas introduced into the chamber 179 through the valves 167a, for example, is fired to push the piston members 171 and 172 toward the head cover 164 so as to compress the combustion gas introduced into the chamber 180 through the inlet valve 168a, for example. At the same time, combustion gas is introduced into the chamber 194 and the combustion gas is exhausted from the chamber 195 through the exhaust valve 170b, for example. When the piston member 171 is pushed toward the chamber 180, the roller 176 guided between the plates 174 and 175 is also moved in the same direction and the lever member 203 is swung in the counterclockwise direction around the pin 204b of the roller 204a while the roller 204a is guided between the plate 204c and 204d in the longitudinal direction of the lever member 203, thereby rotating the crankshaft 202 in the clockwise direction about the center rod 201. As a result of this operation, the piston member 171 goes to its lower dead point and the piston member 172 goes to its upper dead point where the introduced combustion gas is compressed in the chamber 180. When the compressed combustion gas is fired in the chamber 180 by an ignition plug (not shown), the piston member 172 is pushed toward the head cover 163 to rotate the lever member 203 in the clockwise direction about the movable fulcrum 204 to further rotate the crankshaft 202 in the clockwise direction as shown by an arrow A. Thus, so-called explosion steps occur in the chambers 179, 180, 194 and 195 in the order mentioned and so-called four-cycle steps, i.e., inlet, compression, explosion and exhaust steps are performed at each of the chambers 179, 180, 194 and 195 to rotate the crankshaft 202 continuously. According to the embodiment of FIG. 11 it is possible to form a four-cylinder engine using two cylinders 161 and 162, thereby enabling a reduction of the size, weight and volume of the reciprocating engine. Further, since the piston motion is transmitted to the crankshaft using the movable fulcrum type lever member 203, no side thrust of the piston members 171, 172, 185 and 186 with respect to the inner wall of the cylinders 161 and 162 occurs, thereby transmitting the motion of the piston members very smoothly to decrease the energy loss. Accordingly, it is possible to decrease the idling speed from 1000 rpm to 50 rpm, for example. Further, since the lever members 203 and 205 can be formed to have the same length with each other, it is possible to design the distance from the axis of the cylinder 161 to the center of the crankshaft rod 201 to be equal to that between the axis of the cylinder 162 and the center of the rod 201 so as to minimize the vibration of the four-cycle reciprocating engine. Further, since no side thrust occurs at the piston members 171, 172, 185 and 186 with respect to the inner wall of the cylinders 161 and 162, it is possible to form the piston members as ceramic pistons, thereby reducing the weight of the piston members as well as the total weight of the engine. FIG. 12 shows a radial engine with 8 cylinders embodied in accordance with the present invention wherein two sets of the four-cylindered engine as shown in FIG. 11 are combined to form the 8-cylindered reciprocating engine. The 8-cylindered engine of FIG. 12 can be formed using four cylinders 161, 162, 261 and 262. The cylinders 161 and 162 have the same structure as those shown in FIG. 11. Therefore, explanations of the structure with respect to the cylinders 161 and 162, as well as those of the cylinders 261 and 262 can be omitted here except for the fact that the lever members 203 and 205 are connected to one crankshaft arm 202a and the lever members 403 and 405 are connected to another crankshaft arm 202b apart from the arm 202a by 180 degrees with respect to the center of the crankshaft rod 201. Now, operations of the 8-cylindered reciprocating engine will be described. In FIG. 12, the piston member 171 is positioned at its lower dead point as a result of the explosion step in the combustion chamber 179 in the cylinder 161. At the same time, the piston member 185 is also positioned at its lower dead point as a result of the explosion step in the combustion chamber 194 in the cylinder 162. At this time, the chambers 180 and 195 are in the last stage of the compression stroke, while piston members 271, 272, 285 and 286 are at the mid position in the cylinders 261 and 262, respectively. When the compressed fuel gas in the chambers 180 and 195 is ignited by ignition plugs (not shown), the lever members 203 and 205 are swung in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions, respectively, to rotate the crankshaft rod 201 in the direction shown by the arrow A. Accordingly, the lever members 403 and 405 rotate in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions, respectively, thereby compressing the fuel gas in the chambers 280 and 295 and the fuel gas is inlet into the chambers 279 and 294, respectively. According to the present embodiment of FIG. 12, all the lever members 203, 205, 403 and 405 can be made identically so that the whole structure of the 8-cylindered engine can be formed symmetrically with respect to the crankshaft center rod 201, thereby further canceling the vibration in the engine. As has been described above in detail, according to the present invention, an apparatus for mutual conversion between circular motion and reciprocal motion can be provided, which can decrease an energy loss when converting the reciprocal motion of, e.g., the piston of a four-cycle reciprocating engine into rotary motion of the crankshaft, and which can be reduced in weight by using a ceramic as the material to form the apparatus.

Claims: An apparatus for mutual conversion between circular motion about a stationary rotational axis (2) and reciprocal motion along a stationary longitudinal axis perpendicular to the rotational axis by using a lever member (5) having a force point (4), a fulcrum (6a) and an action point (7a); wherein the force point (4) is rotatably mounted at a point on a line connecting a rotational center (2) and a circumference of a rotary body (3), the fulcrum (6a) is provided with a first regulator (6) for functioning the fulcrum (6a) as a movable fulcrum, and the action point (7a) is coupled to a reciprocating body (8); and the first regulator (6) includes support members (6c,6d) to guide the fulcrum (6a) to be movable in the support members (6c,6d); characterized in that the first regulator (6) of the fulcrum (6a) includes a roller (6b) rotatably mounted at the fulcrum (6a) and a pair of guide plates (6c, 6d) being said support members to guide the roller (6b) along a groove formed between the guide plates (6c, 6d); that the action point (7a) is provided with a second regulator (7) coupled to the reciprocating body (8), said second regulator including a roller (7b) rotatably mounted at the action point (7a) and a pair of guide plates (7c, 7d) mounted on the reciprocating body (8) to guide the roller (7b) along a groove formed between the guide plates (7c, 7d), and that, when the rotary body (3) rotates about its rotary shaft (2), the lever member (5) swings about the fulcrum (6a) to drive the reciprocating body (8) linearly while the action point (7a) draws a curved locus with the rotational axis being held parallel. An apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the reciprocating body has a piston (8) inserted in a cylinder (9) in such a manner that the piston (8) freely moves from one end to the other end of the cylinder (9) to form gaps between the piston (8) and the inner end wall of the cylinder (9); that means (10a,10c,11a,11c) are provided allowing a liquid to be taken into the gaps formed at both ends of the cylinder (9) alternately as the piston (8) moves from one end to the other end of the cylinder (9); and that means (10b,10d,11b,11d) are provided allowing the liquid taken into the gaps to be exhausted alternately from the gaps as the piston (8) moves from one end to the other end of the cylinder (9). An apparatus for mutual conversion between circular motion about a stationary rotational axis (32) and reciprocal motion along a stationary longitudinal axis perpendicular to the rotational axis (32) by using a lever member (28) having a force point (27), a fulcrum (28a) and an action point (30); wherein the action point (30) is rotatably mounted at a point on a line connecting a rotational center (32) and a circumference of a rotary body (31), the fulcrum (28a) is provided with a first regulator (29) for functioning the fulcrum (28a) as a movable fulcrum, and the force point (27) is coupled to a reciprocating body (25); and the first regulator (29) includes support members (28c,28d) to guide the fulcrum (28a) to be movable in the support members (28c,28d); characterized in that the first regulator (29) of the fulcrum (28a) includes a roller (28b) rotatably mounted at the fulcrum (28a) and a pair of guide plates (28c,28d) being said support members to guide the roller (28b) along the groove formed between the guide plates (28c,28d) ; that the force point (27) is provided with a second regulator mounted on the reciprocating body (25), said second regulator including a roller (26) rotatably mounted at the force point (27) and a pair of guide plates (25a,25b) connected to the reciprocating body (25) to guide the roller (26) along a groove (25c) formed between the guide plates (25a,25b), and that, when the reciprocating body (25) is driven linearly in a cylinder (20), the force point (27) moves along the groove (25c) to draw a closed locus so that the rotary body (31) is driven to rotate about its rotary shaft (32) with the rotational axis (32) being held parallel. A reciprocating engine comprising: an engine cylinder (20,40a); a piston (25,41a) inserted in the engine cylinder (20,40a) to be driven in a reciprocal manner along a stationary longitudinal axis thereof; a crankshaft (32) to be rotated by a reciprocal motion of the piston (25,41a) about a stationary rotational axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis; and a connecting mechanism coupled between the piston (25,40a) and the crankshaft (32) to convert the reciprocal motion of the piston (25,40a) into the rotary motion of the crankshaft (32); characterized in that the connecting mechanism includes a lever member (28,45a) having a force point (27,44a), a fulcrum (28a,48a), and an action point (30,49a); that the action point (30,49a) is rotatably mounted on the crankshaft (32), the fulcrum (28a,48a) is provided with a first regulator (29) for functioning the fulcrum (28a,48a) as a movable fulcrum, and the force point (27,44a) is coupled to the piston (25,41a); that the first regulator (29) of the fulcrum (28a,48a) includes a roller (28b,47a) rotatably mounted at the fulcrum (28a,48a) and a pair of guide plates (28c,28d) guiding the roller (28b,47a) along a groove formed between the guide plates (28c,28d); that the force point (27,44a) is provided with a second regulator mounted on the piston (25,41a), said second regulator including a roller (26,43a) rotatably mounted at the force point (27,44a) and a pair of guide plates (25a,25b,42b,42c) mounted on the piston (25,41a) guiding the roller (26,43a) along a groove formed between the guide plates (25a,25b,42b,42c), and that, when the piston (25,41a) is driven linearly in the cylinder (20,40a), the force point (27,44a) moves along the groove formed between the guide plates (25a,25b,42b,42c) to draw a closed locus so that the crankshaft arm (30a) is driven to rotate about its rotary shaft (32) with the rotational axis being held parallel. A reciprocating engine according to claim 4, characterized in that the piston (25,41a) is inserted in the cylinder (20,40a) in such a manner that the piston (25,41a) freely moves from one end to the other end of the cylinder (20,40a) to form gaps between the piston (25,41a) and the inner end wall of the cylinder (20,40a); that inlet units (21a,21b) are provided allowing a fuel-air mixture to be taken into the gaps formed at both ends of the cylinder (20,40a) alternately as the piston (25,41a) moves from one end to the other end of the cylinder (20,40a); that outlet units (22a,22b) are provided allowing a combustion gas generated in the gaps to be exhausted alternately from the gaps as the piston (25,41a) moves from one end to the other end of the cylinder (20,40a); and that means (33a,33b,57a,57b,58a,58b) are provided igniting the fuel-air mixture compressed in the gaps formed at both ends of the cylinder (20,40a) alternately. A reciprocating engine according to claim 5, characterized in that said inlet and outlet units (21a,21b,22a,22b) have valves (54a,54b,55a,55b) opening/closing inlet and exhaust holes of the cylinder (20,40a), operating arms (53a,53b,56a,56b) coupled to said valves (54a,54b,55a,55b), and driving units driving the valves (54a,54b,55a,55b) through the operating arms (53a,53b,56a,56b), the operating arms have associated force point regulators coupled to the driving units and movable fulcrum regulators (52a,52b), and the force point and movable fulcrum regulators have guide members guiding the force point and the movable fulcrum to be movable in the guide members (Fig.7). A radial engine including a plurality of basic engine units radially arranged around an outlet axle, each of the basic engine units being provided so as to convert reciprocal motion into circular motion of the outlet axle, each of said basic engine units comprising: a rotary body (201) having a stationary rotational axis and being connected to the outlet axle (202); a reciprocating motor including a cylinder (161,162,261,262) having a cylinder head (163,164,165,166) including inlet and exhaust units (167a,167b,168a,168b,169a,169b,170a,170b) of a fuel gas and an ignition unit, and a piston body (171,172,185,186,271,272,285,286) inserted in the cylinder (161,162,261,262) to move along a stationary longitudinal axis of the cylinder (161,162) perpendicular to the rotational axis; and a connecting mechanism connecting the piston body (171,172,185,186,271,272,285,286) to the rotary body (201) to convert the reciprocal motion of the piston (171,172,185,186,271,272,285,286) into the circular motion of the rotary body (201); characterized in that the cylinder (161,162,261,262) has two cylinder heads (163,164,165,166), each of which is provided with inlet and exhaust units (167a,167b,168a,168b,169a,169b,170a,170b) of the fuel gas and an ignition unit; that the piston body has two piston members (171,172,185,186,271,272,285,286) inserted in the cylinder (161,162,261,262) to face with the first and second end portions, respectively; that the connecting mechanism includes a lever member (203,205,403,405) having a force point (204,206), a fulcrum (204b,207b) and an action point; that the action point is rotatably mounted on a crankshaft arm (202a,202b) of a crankshaft rod (201) acting as the rotary body; that the fulcrum (204b,207b) is provided with a first regulator for functioning the fulcrum as a movable fulcrum, and the force point (204,206) is coupled to the piston members (171,172,185,186,271,272,285,286); that the first regulator includes guide plates (204c,204d,207c,207d) guiding the fulcrum (204b,207b) to be movable in the guide plates (204c,204d,207c,207d) ; that the first regulator of the fulcrum includes a roller (204a,207a) rotatably mounted at the fulcrum (204b,207b) and a pair of guide plates (204c,204d,207c,207d) guiding the roller (204a,207a) along a groove formed between the guide plates; that the force point (204,206) is provided with a second regulator mounted on the piston members (171,172,185,186,271,272,285,286), said second regulator including a roller (176,190) rotatably mounted at the force point (204,206), and a pair of guide plates (174,175,188,189) connected to the piston members (171,172,185,186,271,272,285,286) to guide the roller (176,190) along a groove (173,187) formed between the guide plates; and that, when the piston members (171,172,185,186,271,272,285,286) are driven linearly in the cylinders (161,162,261,262), the force point (204,206) moves along the groove (173,187) to draw a closed locus so that the crankshaft arms (202a,202b) are driven to rotate about the crankshaft (201) with the rotational axis being held parallel (Fig. 11, 12).

Inventors: YOSHIZAWA YASUO, YOSHIZAWA, YASUO
Applicants: YOSHIKI KOGYO KK, YOSHIKI INDUSTRIAL CO. LTD
Application year: 1994
Main classification: F16H21
IPC codes: F02B75, F16H21, F01B9